The government was defeated in the House of Lords yesterday when peers voted to block identity cards unless ministers published a detailed report of the costs involved.

Labour peers were outvoted by 237 to 156 as the upper house backed an opposition amendment.

The defeat, which was no surprise, means that the government will now have to reamend the bill to its original state when it goes back to the House of Commons next month.

Speaking before the Lords vote, Charles Clarke, the home secretary, dismissed calls in the Commons from opposition and Labour backbenchers to review his plans for ID cards, saying they were necessary to tackle fraud.

Peers voted after the release of a report from the London School of Economics that said the cost of the scheme could be three times higher than the £5.8bn the government has budgeted for the programme.